


Makings of a Pilot

by mckinlily



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Implied Character Death, Shiro is Keith's mentor, mischievous Shiro, musings by Sam Holt, no one is dead but the characters don't know that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-17 14:57:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11277636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mckinlily/pseuds/mckinlily
Summary: “He’s the one we’re looking at,” says Iverson. “Shirogane. He’s the one for Kerberos.”Sam Holt isn’t quite so certain. After all, it takes more than good test scores and a charming smile to be a pilot.But Shiro’s got a habit of upsetting expectations.





	Makings of a Pilot

**Author's Note:**

> Since there's no confirmed ages, I thought I'd write up what I was thinking. In the first scene,
> 
> Shiro - 18  
> Keith -11/12
> 
> I put Matt a couple years younger than Shiro since we see him in a cadet uniform but Shiro is dressed as an officer. No guesses on Sam's age, but he's at least a Level 30 Adult. Highly impressive.

Sam stands on the observation deck. Right now Keith Kogane, the cadet whose combination of impressive talent and equally impressive discipline problems means Sam has heard more about him than he ever cared to, is in the simulator. But he isn’t the one Sam isn’t here for. Today the first year pilots are being tutored by senior cadets. And Keith’s mentor is Takashi Shirogane.

“He’s the one we’re looking at,” Iverson had said, pointing out the tall, perhaps a bit _too_ attractive cadet. “Shirogane. He’s the one for Kerberos.”

Sam is less certain. Oh, he has no doubt Shirogane can fly. He’s _seen_ the kid’s scores. But Shirogane has also been at the top of his class every year at the Garrison. He’s been flying through simulations like they were made for him, blasting every known record out of the water. Nothing the Garrison has thrown at him has so much as made him stumble. And that, Sam fears, is the heart of the problem.

Pilots already have a reputation for being cocky. Sam can’t imagine Shirogane being anything less, not when he’s so well justified.

But the Kerberos mission is scheduled years from now, and Shirogane hasn’t just impressed Iverson. Monty likes him as well, as does Jacobson. Sam’s own son Matt has been taken with “Shiro” as he’s known to the cadets since last April when he somehow managed to get his hands on an officer’s uniform and woke the entire freshmen class with a spot-on impression of Iverson. Which… Sam is actually quite disappointed he was on an assignment to Mars and didn’t get a chance to see that. But he isn’t certain that undermines any of Shirogane’s potential cockiness.

Sam _is_ curious, though, and he will admit that making judgments without actually knowing the kid isn’t entirely fair. So he’s here, watching as Kogane rips through the simulation with all the subtlety of a fistfight.

Sam has to give credit where credit is due: Shirogane stomachs Kogane’s flying with stunning grace. Kogane shoots straight for his destination, missing obstacles by mere feet, only swerving violently at last the minute when he absolutely has to, and Shirogane doesn’t even flinch. As Sam watches, Kogane clips the edge of his wing, accounting for the added torque with impressive if unnerving skill. He pulls into a landing a full three minutes ahead of the last score, the back fishtailing wildly before he forces it back under control. Though Sam knows some of this recklessness is simply due to youth, he also gets a taste of the frustration Iverson must feel at the misappropriation of such talent.

In the simulator, Shirogane leans back in his seat. “Anyone tell you you’ve got a bit of a heavy hand there, Keith?”

“You said get to the Venus station,” says Kogane with a hint of a sulk. “I did.”

Sam chokes back a laugh. Something about Kogane’s petulance is just so _teenager_. Sam finds himself a bit endeared to the sullen cadet.

Apparently Shirogane is, too, because he smiles. “Well, yeah, that’s certainly true.” He taps his fingers on his crossed arms. “I think you gave the old ladies in the back a bit of a heart attack, though.”

Kogane actually looks behind him before fixing Shirogane with a look that is openly annoyed. “What old ladies?” he grumbles.

“The ones in the back of the ship,” Shirogane says like it was obvious. Kogane makes his irritation very clear on his face. Shirogane just laughs.

“Look, kiddo, that was a good run. But _I_ know you could have made it faster.”

Kogane looks at Shirogane, confused but also looking a little to lit up at the challenge. Sam isn’t sure he likes where this is going. Especially because Shirogane’s face moves to mysteriously blank as he shrugs a shoulder.

“You could take advantage of the moon’s gravity,” he points out. “You can slingshot around it and survive the damage going straight through that debris field if you’re fast enough.”

Shirogane should _not_ be able to say that with so much confidence.

Worse, Kogane’s eyes have lit up at the idea. “You can do that…” he says, a mixture of a statement and a question.

“The moon’s no Jupiter,” said Shirogane. “But still.”

Suddenly, Shirogane has Kogane’s full attention. “Have you slingshot Jupiter?”

“Only in simulations,” says Shirogane. But his expression cracks just a bit, revealing a smirk.

Kogane’s eyes are on fire. “I want to do that,” he says, low and intense. There’s passion there, burning hot and intense, almost consuming him. Sam’s actually a little surprised to see it. He’s known Kogane has a temper—that infamous discipline problem—but this kind of drive is different. He wonders if the other instructors are aware of it or if they’re just as taken in by Kogane’s sullenness as Sam originally was.

Shirogane, for his part, doesn’t look surprised in the least. But then, Sam is starting to see that it takes a lot more than a small surprise to shake Shirogane.

“You will,” says Shirogane, voice calm and confident. “But you have to master this first.”

“So faster.” Kogane burns with intensity, turning back to the controls.

“Actually, no.”

Both Kogane’s and Sam’s eyebrows rise at the same time. Kogane is giving Shirogane that baffled/annoyed look again, and Shirogane is proving himself more than immune to it.

“I said you _could_ go faster,” says Shirogane. “Not that you _should_.”

“Isn’t that the point?” snaps Kogane. “To get there and be done?”

Shirogane leans back in his seat. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

Sam can’t tell if Shirogane is intentionally trying to push the younger cadet’s buttons or not, but it’s definitely working. Kogane looks likes he’s about throw something. “If you’ve got a problem, just _tell_ me! Stop being so cryptic and annoying!”

At this point Shirogane is _definitely_ holding back a laugh, but he waves his hands in the air apologetically. “Okay, okay! I’m getting there!”

Kogane sends Shirogane another glare that’s only on this side of sulky, and Shirogane continues to be unaffected by it.

“Look,” he explains carefully, “in a typical crew, there are three people.” Shirogane lists them off on his fingers. “Engineer—They keep the ship running. Communications Officer—They get orders and basically make sure the mission stays on track. And then there’s the pilot. What’s his job?”

“Fly,” grunts Kogane.

“Sure. But if we’re just talking about getting from point A to B as fast as possible, we should just automate the whole thing and eliminate pilots entirely.”

Kogane looks like he just got kicked in the teeth. “But _we’re_ pilots. That’s—We’re—”

Shirogane waits patiently while Kogane splutters. When Kogane looks like he might just start tearing the simulator apart in a panic, Shirogane speaks again.  

“As it turns out, there are a few things computers can’t do,” he says. “Say, come up with creative solutions. Or work with a crew.”

Shirogane settles back in his seat, staring out at end screen in the stimulator visuals, but Kogane is watching him carefully under the cover of his just-past-regulation bangs. If Shirogane is aware—and at this point, Sam thinks he _is_ aware—he makes no sign of it.

“The way I see it,” Shirogane says, “the pilot’s job is to make sure everyone gets home safe. It’s the only thing you _can_ do. Everything else, someone or something can do better. So you take care of the crew. You practice and you train so that if something _does_ go wrong, you can get them out safe. You need to know everything about your ship, its specs, its limitations, common malfunctions. And you need to know your route, the best path, what to watch for and what to avoid. All that so you can _get them back safe._ You have to fly in a way so that your _crew_ can best do _their_ jobs. So if all you’re doing is getting from one place to another, sure you’re _flying_ , but you’re not a pilot.”

Kogane grows very still, his eyebrows pulled tight together and lower lip protruding in a pout. But Sam thinks he looks like he’s _thinking_ which is more than any Garrison instructor has managed in the year that he’s been here.

Shirogane looks at Kogane out of the corner of his eye. “You’ve got talent, kid. You’ve got _tons_ of talent, and you’re going to need it, all right? You’re meant for great things, Keith. But you have to stop flying like you’re the only one in the ship. The goal isn’t to finish the course. It’s to make sure everyone gets there and back as safely as possible. You got that?”

Kogane doesn’t answer immediately, staring out at the blank visuals before he nods slowly. “Yeah.”

Shirogane watches Kogane for a moment, maybe waiting for more. But Kogane doesn’t say anything, so Shirogane just reaches for his tablet and brings up the beginning of the simulation. “Okay, let’s try this again. We already know you can beat any time records on this thing. This time let’s pretend I’m part of your crew. I’ve just gotten married and I _have_ to get back because my beautiful young wife is pregnant and I _need_ to be there for the baby.” Shirogane does a surprisingly good job at sounding choked up over the hypothetical scenario. Kogane scowls, and Shirogane’s lips twitch. “Oh, and your grandmother is your communications officer, and she has a heart condition so we’ve got to make sure she makes it, too.”

Kogane is staring wide-eyed at Shirogane and is clearly wondering if he’s run mad. Sam has the distinct impression that Shirogane is enjoying this. Or maybe that’s just Sam projecting because _Sam_ definitely is. Shirogane holds his finger over the start button on his tablet.

“So you’re ready? We’re not going to kill grandmother?”

Kogane sends Shirogane another annoyed look and rolls his eyes. “ _Yes_.”

“All right, then,” says Shirogane, and he starts the simulation.

Kogane flies. Sam wouldn’t exactly call it a _safe_ run, but it’s far more controlled than the last one. It’s clearly a new style for Kogane because it’s a little jerky and he hasn’t figured out how to think through the smoothest path between multiple obstacles yet, but Shirogane doesn’t comment on it. He just keeps up a dry commentary, points out a few routes that his trained eye can spot but Kogane can’t, and once, when Kogane yanks the craft nearly sideways instead of slowing down to make a turn, lets out a high falsetto yelp. “ _Oh my goodness gracious! I think I just dropped my knitting!_ ”

Kogane actually tears his eyes from the visuals and outright _stares_ at Shirogane.

“Eyes forward, cadet,” Shirogane snaps, forcibly turning Kogane’s head back to front.

Kogane shakes Shirogane’s hand off. “You’re _insane_ ,” he growls.

Shirogane laughs, delighted. “You’re going off course.”

Kogane yanks the ship back. He overcorrects, and the ship goes into a tailspin.

But Shirogane just talks him through regaining control of the ship and then plotting out a new route, never losing his calm, encouraging tone. Though he does inform Kogane that his grandmother’s yarn is rolling around the cockpit at one point. Kogane seems to indulge Shirogane with the same kind of weary patience that one might exhibit with a particularly baffling two-year-old. He listens to Shirogane, though, which is a miracle in and of itself. His flying improves dramatically.

_Huh_ , thinks Sam. Maybe Iverson is onto something about Shirogane after all.

 

The media is buzzing about the latest manned mission to Saturn’s rings. But when they interview Shirogane about it, he’s almost bashful.

“My job is to make sure everyone makes it home safe. I just had to keep us alive until Totchi and Sorenson could get the broadside boosters back online, so that’s what I did.”

 

“You’re actually allowed to have a life outside of the simulator before the mission, you know,” comments Sam with a smile.

Shiro ducks his head. He still hasn’t gotten used to being teased by Sam yet despite getting along like a fish in water with Matt. He seems to think that joking back would be a breach in protocol. Sam _really_ hopes to break him of that before they launch for Kerberos.

“It’s a big mission,” says Shiro. “I know I’m too young for this. I just want to be prepared for anything.”

“And that’s why I want you for this mission,” says Sam. “You’ll make sure to actually learn what you’re doing instead of just assuming you know. But don’t kill yourself for it. I haven’t got time to pick another pilot.”

Shiro gives him that wide-eyed look that Sam thinks indicates his still-present amazement at being picked for such a mission. As if there was ever any real competition. A small international celebrity, a hero at the Garrison, and still Shiro faces the mission like he got in on a fluke.

“I just want to do it right.”

 

Just before the launch, Sam catches the words Shiro says to Colleen when she embraces him. “I promise, Dr. Holt, I’ll bring them home safe.”

 

*

*

*

*

*

 

“Run!”

            “Come on! _RUN!_ ”

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Please! We come from a peaceful planet! We mean you no harm!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

“No! Don’t take him!”

            “ _COMMANDER!_ ”

*

*

*

*

*

 

The prisoner convoy grinds to a halt. On the platform, Sam limps over to help. The Galra have stripped him of literally everything. He’s lost his family, his wife and daughter, his home planet, and now he’s even lost his crew, those two brilliant young men, his own _son_. He’s a beaten, broken man, shivering with grief. But despite it all, he refuses to let the Galra take his compassion as well. So he makes himself move to help the prisoners out of the convoy, offering them what little comfort he can. But this time, he’s met with a strangled cry.

“ _Dad!_ ”

It’s a face that Sam never thought he would see again. That he didn’t even believe was alive _._ Matt doesn’t so much run as stumble and catch himself as he flies at Sam. His eyes are red and puffy and one of his legs is coated in goopy dried blood, but none of that matters because when his clutches at Sam, his breath is warm against Sam’s chest and Sam can feel his bony shoulder blades under his hands. He’s here. He _alive_.

He’s _distraught._ Matt chokes on sobs, only managing to get out a few words between gasps for breath. “Shiro—gone—sacrificed—he—my leg— _Shiro!_ —”

Matt bathers on, nearly hysterical, until Sam finally gathers enough to realize what must have happened. His blood runs cold. A memory of a conversation overhead years ago drifts into his head.

_—“The way I see it, the pilot’s job is to make sure everyone gets home safe.”—_

Matt isn’t remotely home. He doesn’t even count as safe. But he should be dead and he’s not because—

_Oh, Takashi. You didn’t have to do that._

He had been so young, hadn’t he? So worried about living up to his potential. Only to—

Matt’s heart beats under Sam’s hands, the most precious, most desperately bought gift Sam has ever been given.

_The best pilot the Garrison has ever seen. Ever_ will _see._

_Takashi—_

There are no words for this. Sam clutches his son, and his tears soak Matt’s hair.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a oneshot and therefore complete. Comments and kudos are always appreciated!!


End file.
